Gang Green – We’ll Give It To You

We’ll Give It To You Box Set Cover Art

Gang Green – We’ll Give It To You
Cherry Red Records
Release date: 13/01/2023
Running time: 02:49:00
Review by: Alun Jones
8.5/10

As a teenaged skateboarder in the late 80’s, Boston hardcore legends Gang Green were definitely on my playlist. They appeared on a Thrasher Skate Rock tape, what more do you need to know?! Merging Hardcore Punk with a more metallic edge, Gang Green added a technicality and Rock’n’roll, beer drinking party vibe to their unique take on Crossover / Thrash. It was mostly fun, though sometimes dumb, times – with a fast and crazy energy. Eventually finding a home on Roadrunner records in 1987, the albums Gang Green recorded for that label are collected here by Cherry Red Records.

Working through the discs chronologically, we’ll start with the first Roadrunner release, “You Got It”. Featuring what is possibly the worst album cover all time – the band in a sewer? Why is (vocalist / guitarist) Chris Doherty jumping through a fence? And where are his legs?! This atrocious shot always bothered me, so I’m delighted I get to bitch about it now (though it only appears a small pic!). Music wise, “You Got It” is chock full of belters: the storming Thrash of ‘We’ll Give it to You’ setting out Gang Green’s goods; ferocious Hardcore with ‘LDSB’ and ‘Born to Rock’. There’s even a surprise social conscience (and mellow intro) on ‘Another Bomb’. Plus, bonus track ‘Skate to Hell’ is worth the price of admission alone.

If Roadrunner were relieved that they’d done the right thing signing this bunch of unruly punks after that first record, ‘Older… Budweiser’ went even better. Armed this time with a great cover / title (thankfully), Gang Green delivered more of the same, but amped up even further. ‘Church of Fun’ bolts out of the gates; ‘Just One Bullet’ and ‘We Can Go’ show exactly how to meld Hardcore and Thrash into a furious, fun time. The Rock’n’roll edge that began on the previous record becomes more prevalent, adding a distinct flavour to the band’s sound (see ‘Tear Down the Walls’). The humour misfires on ‘Bedroom of Doom’, but the does-what-it-says-on the-tin ‘Ballad’ is a nice attempt to branch out musically before closing time.

On disc three, we have the live album “Can’t LIVE Without It”, recorded at the Marquee Club in London in 1990. Most of the live tracks appear already on this compilation, but it’s a solid recording of an energetic, relentless show. There are a bunch of non-Roadrunner tracks which add value for money; plus, the inclusion of the “I81B4U” EP and ‘Living Loving Maid’ single, which is great news for obsessive nerds like me. 

Finally, the compilation album “King of Bands” rounds out the collection. If you’ve not had enough of hearing some of these songs twice already, prepare to experience some of them yet again with this “greatest hits” set. Although, there are two new tracks and three from Gang Greens first album on Taang! Records for VFM. The two tracks – ‘Thunder’ and ‘Rub It In Your Face’ are OK, but not up to the standard of older material. Still, this last disc seals the lid on this barrel of good times very nicely.

The history of Gang Green proves to be a fascinating tale. Predating Jackass by some years, the party hard doctrine of the band remains resolutely in place. Some of the lyrics are juvenile at best, out right sexist at worst (‘Cum In You’, oh dear); but if you can forgive that, the attitude and fun remains infectious. Yes, it’s all about partying and beer, but the music is still great. Not as Metal as COC, or as Punk as Circle Jerks, Gang Green added a rockin’ flare to their brand of crossover and brought the party home. 

A great compilation featuring tons of interviews, info and photos, “We’ll Give It To You” is a comprehensive guide to beer-soaked thrash punk. It’s time to get out on your skateboard, rock out to Gang Green, and celebrate with a few beers. Afterward, that is. Ever Metal wants you to take care: don’t drink & skate.

TRACKLISTING:

DISC ONE – You Got It
01. Haunted House
02. We’ll Give It To You
03. Sheet Rock
04. Ballerina Massacre
05. Born To Rock
06. Another Bomb
07. L.D.S.B
08. Whoever Said
09. Party With the Devil
10. Somethings
11. The Climb
12. Sick, Sex, Six
13. Skate To Hell* (bonus track)

DISC TWO – Older… Budweiser
01. Church of Fun
02. Just One Bullet
03. We Can Go
04. Tear Down The Walls
05. Flight 911
06. Bedroom Of Doom
07. Casio Jungle
08. Why Should You
09. I’m Still Young
10. Ballad

DISC THREE – Can’t LIVE Without It
01. Let’s Drink Some Beer (live)
02. Bartender (live)
03. Lost Chapter (live)
04. We’ll Give It To You (live)
05. We Can Go (live)
06. Have Fun (live)
07. Last Chance (live)
08. Just One Bullet (live)
09. Born To Rock (live)
10. Rabies (live)
11. Voices Carry (live)
12. Sold Out (live)
13. Bedroom of Doom (live)
14. Bomb (live)
15. Alcohol (live)
16. Bartender *
17. Lost Chapter *
18. Rent *
19. Put Her On Top *
20. Cum In U *
21. Living Loving Maid **

DISC FOUR – King of Bands
01. Thunder
02. Alcohol
03. We’ll Give It To You
04. Bartender
05. Ballad
06. Fuck In A
07. Just One Bullet
08. Another Wasted Night
09. Bomb
10. Put Her On Top
11. Church of Fun
12. Rub It In Your Face

LINE-UP:
Chris Doherty – Vocals, Guitar
Fritz Erickson – Guitar
Joe Gittleman – Bass (You Got It / Older… Budweiser / King of Bands)
Josh Pappe – Bass (Can’t LIVE Without It)
Brian Betzger – Drums
Chuck Stilphen – guitar (King of Bands)
Mike Lucantonio – guitar (King of Bands)
Glen Stilphen – bass (King of Bands)
Kevin Brooks – bass (King of Bands)

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Alun Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Anti-Flag – Lies They Tell Our Children

Lies They Tell Our Children Album Cover Art

Anti-Flag – Lies They Tell Our Children
Spinefarm Records
Release Date: 06/01/2023
Running Time: 33:00
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10

In my continuing quest to review as little Metal as possible whilst writing for a Metal website, my first review of the new year is the new cut from Pittsburg Punk Royalty Anti-Flag and their 13th studio album “Lies They Tell Our Children”. The millennial noughties teen in me rejoiced when I saw this pop up in the release schedule, as did the part of me that’s already miserable enough in January without being forced to listen to music that sounds like a lorry driving past your house while you’re trying to get to sleep. But don’t get me wrong, for all its tunefulness this album is as pissed-off as anything you’ll hear for the rest of the year.

Centring on a bile-filled attack on late-stage capitalism and the astonishingly even wider gap in inequality in a post-Covid world, the band have created one of the freshest and most vital additions to their incredibly consistent catalogue, helped in no small part by a plethora of impressive guest spots. The album’s greatest strength is finding a laser focus while touching on a wide variety of Punk subgenres throughout its breakneck 33-minute runtime.

We get rousing Folk-Punk singalongs on opener ‘Sold Everything’ and ‘Victory or Death (Gave ‘Em Hell)’, swaggering Punk ‘n’ Roll on ‘Imperialism’ and scabrous Post-Hardcore on the towering ‘Hazardous’, all forged together by the band’s core sound of slick, melodic, anthemic modern Punk. The band have been churning out solid releases for a long old time now, but it’s this deadly combo of breadth and brevity that sees this latest release ranking at the top end of their discography.

Killswitch Engage main man Jesse Leach pops up on the seething ‘Modern Meta Medicine’, which contains verses dripping with palpable disgust at the hegemonic power structures that see so many of us actively participate in our own exploitation that explode into one of the albums most fist-pumping choruses. Leach’s contribution is particularly commendable for the way he blends seamlessly with the bands style rather than imposing his visceral bark on proceedings as one might expect.

In one of the more prominent guest appearances Rise Against singer Tim McIlraith rocks up on the appropriately Rise Against-sounding ‘The Fight Of Our Lives’ and delivers his soaring impassioned croon over a composition that is equal parts melancholic, wistful and furious. Despite being a big fan of the more commercially palatable direction of modern-day Rise Against, it’s lovely to hear Tim sounding so feral and unpolished again.

Despite excellent contributions from other members of Anti-Flag’s extended Punk family such as the dynamic strut of Pinkshift’s Ashrita Kumar on ‘Imperialism’ and the weathered grit of Die Toten Hosen’s Campino on the pint-swaying ‘Victory or Death’, the album never runs the risk of being overrun by its impressive collection of co-conspirators. In fact, perhaps the two strongest cuts are solely comprised of the core line-up in the form of ‘The Hazardous’ and ‘Only In My Head’. The former is arguably the most bleak thing here from a sonic perspective, with angular chords and full throated screams driving the song to its soul-destroying climactic mantra of ‘Same war, same chains, sane house always wins’. The latter closes the album out in a furious death-rattle with one last lung-busting singalong, bellowing ‘the house created by their greed is not the goddamn home that we need!’

“The Lies They Tell…” is an album with a well-worn but no less relevant theme that our society is being sucked dry by billionaire parasites and a system where the deck is stacked against the majority. It is something that needs to be said in a strong, articulate and emotionally compelling voice and as much as we all love Metal here, sometimes Punk Rock is the best vehicle to get the point across. Start your new year with a defiant middle finger to your oppressors and a banging soundtrack provided by Anti-Flag.

‘The Fight Of Our Lives’ Official Video

TRACKLISTING:
01. Sold Everything
02. Modern Meta Medicine
03. Laugh. Cry. Smile. Die.
04. The Fight Of Our Lives
05. Imperialism
06. Victory Or Death (We Gave ‘Em Hell)
07. The Hazardous
08. Shallow Graves
09. Work & Struggle
10. Nvrever
11. Only In My Head

LINE-UP:
Justin Sane – Vocals / Guitar
Chris No. 2 – Vocals / Bass
Chris Head – Guitar
Pat Thetic – Drums

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

UK Subs – XXIV/Yellow Leader Reissues

UK Subs – XXIV/Yellow Leader Reissues
Captain Oi/Cherry Red Records
Release Date: XXIV10/06/2022
Yellow Leader08/07/2022
Running time: 38:00/ 52:00
Review by Alun Jones
XXIV:9/10
Yellow Leader: 8.5/10

Recap time: regular readers may remember that yours truly recently reviewed the re-issue of “Work in Progress” by punk veterans UK Subs.  You may also recall that that album covered the letter W in the bands ongoing mission to release an album for every letter of the alphabet.  Well, the good news is that Captain Oi/Cherry Red Records are also releasing the next two instalments in the series – that’s the letters X and Y (but you knew that).

Working through chronologically, we have “XXIV” – which the lovely record company peeps have released on drool-worthy double 10” vinyl, one green, one clear.  Yummy.  Our first song is an absolute belter: the full-on turbo romp ‘Implosion 77’.  Hold on tight and buckle up!  There’s plenty more fast’n’nasty thrills on offer too: ‘Speed’ has a merciless UK82 vibe; ‘Monkeys’ has a classic Subs singalong chorus; ‘Garden of Good & Evil’ is another pogo-till-your-pants-fall-off rocker.

There’s some well-placed variety too, with the harmonica adorned political thrust of ‘Coalition Government Blues’, and Bo Diddley swagger of ‘Wreckin’ Ball’ – both showing hints of the bands R’n’B origins (like as in, what R’n’B used to be).  Lyrically there are plenty of targets for Charlie to attack, both politically and socially.  ‘Memento Mori’ finishes the album off with one most aggressive tunes on offer, leaving us with a great album of 14 adrenaline infused songs.

“Yellow Leader” follows in a similar fashion, featuring 18 songs (whereas the original vinyl was cut to just 14 due to running times).  To be released on slinky, divine double 10” vinyl (one red, one turquoise here), it’ll be a feast for the eyes and ears.  Again, the album is crammed with more relentless Punk Rock shenanigans like ‘Sick Velveteen’, ‘Chemical’ and ‘Heathens’, all of which will have you jumping around the room like a monkey on a lava stream.

As with the previous record, there’s plenty of other sounds and ideas here. The single ‘Sin City Blues’ has a killer rockabilly feel, and ‘Rebellion Song’ breaks out the acoustic guitar.  The only mis-step is ‘Archaeology’, a strange Post -Punk/ Goth style experiment that, while not awful, isn’t a total success.  All in all, the quality of music is impressively high and the recordings sound excellent.

And there you go, music lovers! Not one, but TWO albums of mighty UK Subs songs, lovingly compiled and curated by those nice folks at Captain Oi/Cherry Red Records.  You lucky people.  Pick ‘em up while you can, nobody is this fortunate twice.    

TRACKLISTING:

XXIV:
01. Implosion 77 
02. Coalition Government Blues 
03. Speed 
04. Rabid 
05. Monkeys 
06. Black Power Salute 
07. Las Vegas Wedding 
08. Stare At The Sun  
09. Garden Of Good And Evil 
10. Workers Revolution 
11. Wreckin’ Ball 
12. Detox 
13. Failed State 
14. Momento Mori 
15. Workers Beer Company

Yellow Leader:
01. Sick Velveteen 
02. Artificial 
03. Bordeaux Red 
04. Chemical 
05. Deconstruct 
06. Diatribe 
07. Feed The Whore 
08. Heathens 
09. Prime Evil 
10. Rebellion Song 
11. Sin City Blues 
12. Slave 
13. Big Bug 
14. Suicidal Girl 
15. Virus 
16. Cry Wolf 
17. Archaeology 
18. 611

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Alun Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

EMQ’s With Eduard Banulescu

EMQ’s With Eduard Banulescu

Hello everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Romanian multi-instrumentalist, Eduard Banulescu. Huge thanks to him for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name’s Eduard Banulescu. I play everything on my records, but not very well. Except the guitar. I used to learn Kerry King riffs when I was a kid and thought I’d introduce them to folks. 

I’ve been playing in Punk bands for most of my life. I’m now trying to release my solo records with the kind of speed and consistency that would frighten the boys in The Lizard Jizzard. My music sounds like Syd Barrett got forced to start a Grunge band.

How did you come up with your band name?

Eduard Banulescu? Oh, kind of came to me in a dream. It was either that or Salajan69.

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

I’ll tell you, folks back in Romania really love their Extreme Metal. I think that it might be the country’s history, or the fact that you can’t really make up the lyrics. In fact, if you don’t play Metal, there’s a fine for walking around Bucharest with a guitar case. 

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

It’s a nifty little number called Long Time Ago. I think it should be made mandatory that everyone in the world hears it. It’s a song about refugees, about borders, and about commitment. I also do a gnarly guitar solo, so don’t fear it being too heavy. 

Who have been your greatest influences?

I haven’t told a lot of people this. But, my body has long ago been taken over by the spirit of Syd Barrett. What I do now is just channel Syd’s ideas into music. Which is kind of hard because he keeps suggesting we “tune the chips to E”. 

Anyway, I also like Slayer.

What first got you into music?

I was facing a life spent mostly in the correctional facilities back in ol’ Romania. Let me tell you, don’t let anyone tell you that crime doesn’t pay. I was wearing tailored suits, smoking fine cigars. But, the money was getting to be a problem. I decided choosing a different career path, one that doesn’t involve money. Becoming a musician seemed the obvious choice

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Gnawa musicians from Southern Morocco. 

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

The Gnawa Festival in Essaouira, or the Download Festival.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

Death threats! But, it’s not that uncommon.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Buy my music to keep me off the streets. 

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Chris Cornell. Have you heard that guy sing? 

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

It’s one of the last refuges for weirdos, poets and mystics. But, I hate tuning a guitar. 

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

The business model of the last 30 years is faulty. You’d need to redesign everything and provide more value to the listeners. Greed killed it. Speaking of that, I would also make myself stinking rich. 

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

“Reign In Blood”, “Operation:Mindcrime” and Syd Barrett’s “The Madcap Laughs”.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

Cassettes are the best because you can fit them in your back pocket and still get the sense that you own a physical representation of the music. But, don’t knock downloads. Music piracy has done a lot for us. Do you think modern bands would’ve heard as much music without it?

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

It’s always the next gig. It has to be the best I ever play.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Criminal. I’d be combing the beaches of West Africa looking to avoid prosecution. 

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

I’d invite Layne Staley, Johnny Thunders, Keith Richard, Lou Reed and Lemmy, and say “Ok. Who’s game for some liquorice tea?”

What’s next for the band?

Releasing two new EP’s, “Bontida” and “Berlin”. Both are superb. Will also be releasing some standalone singles. Will be travelling North Africa and picking up great, new ideas. Buy the music from the Eduard Banulescu Bandcamp, please! 

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

Hit “Eduard Banulescu” into your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. and you’ll be met with the old Metal Lord himself. Or, if you’re old-fashioned, go to my Bandcamp page and purchase the digital record. It helps!

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

You should never refuse a stranger offering you one either way.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Every time you take a sip of your beer something terrible happens in the world. Are you going to allow that to happen? Buy my music! Let’s put some hope back into the world. 

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

UK Subs – Work in Progress

UK Subs – Work in Progress (Reissue)
Cherry Red Records
Release Date: 22/04/2022
Running Time: 41 minutes
Review by Alun Jones
9/10

Ladies and gentlemen: the UK Subs. A fine collective of upstanding, noble samurai and no mistake. Led by the indomitable Charlie Harper, the band have roots stretching right back to the origin of the London Punk scene (and actually, a fair bit further than that). The band are still touring and recording all this time later, albeit with changing line ups throughout the years, so their integrity and passion should never be in any doubt. 

Casual observers may not be aware that the UK Subs have released an album for every letter of the alphabet (plus more). That’s no mean feat. What is somewhat daunting, is that’s a lot for any new fans who want to collect everyone of those releases! Yet fear not, music lovers: Cherry Red records have been gracious enough to re-release the 2011 album “Work in Progress”, on sexy double 10” gold and silver vinyl. For anyone struggling to keep up, that means the punters have no excuse to at least have the letter W from the list in the bag.

And what will discerning music fans find within this sumptuous collection? Why, fourteen songs of the finest punk rock vintage, of course. That means a blitzkrieg of blinding rockers like ‘Creation’, ‘Radio Unfriendly’ and the brilliantly titled ‘Hell is Other People’. Some bloke called Lars Frederickson, from a band called Rancid, co-wrote ‘This Chaos’ – another brain-melter – and you can even bang your head to ‘Children of the Flood’, if you want to.

Punk Rock unbelievers, I say unto thee: these songs do not all sound the same. They are not simply constructed, amateur-hour noise. All the tracks are full of energy and have their own identity. There’s a hint of Rockabilly on ‘Eighteen Wheels’, R&B Garage Rock on the bouncy Sonics cover ‘Strychnine’ and ‘All Blurs into One’ has an almost Psychedelic sheen. 

The only potential misfires are ‘Tokyo Rose’, which at first sounds a bit too Hollywood Sunset Strip (but redeems itself after a few listens) and ‘Rock’n’Roll Whore’, which could be a bit – well, dated lyrically.

This UK Subs album admirably highlights a classic band who are still fighting on, taking their music to the world. It shows the roots of the band in R&B, whilst also providing a link from the Ramones to US Hardcore bands like Circle Jerks and Descendents, and ever onwards. After all these years, the UK Subs are still a “Work in Progress” and show no signs of stopping.

Right, see you later. I’m off to hang around in a graveyard with my old mate Dave Vanian. Captain and Rat, you can only come if you promise to stop setting fire to mattresses.

TRACKLISTING:
01. Creation 
02. Tokyo Rose 
03. Hell Is Other People 
04. The Axe 
05. Radio Unfriendly 
06. This Chaos 
07. Guru 
08. Eighteen Wheels 
09. Children Of The Flood 
10. All Blurs Into One 
11. Blood 
12. Rock N Roll Whore 
13. Strychnine 
14. Robot Age 

LINE-UP:
Charlie Harper – Vocals
Jamie Oliver – Drums
Alvin Gibbs – Bass
Jet 13 – Guitar

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Alun Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

The Spitfires Live at The Rickshaw Theatre

The Spitfires Live at The Rickshaw Theatre
Vancouver, BC, Canada – 20/11/21
Words and Photography by Arturs Feists

The Spitfires have been wowing music fans with their mix of “AC/DC meets the Sex Pistols” 70’s era rock/punk since 1996. They’re road dogs – Canada coast to coast multiple times, extensive U.S. touring, and playing in the UK, the Spitfires have taken on SXSW, NXNE, Canadian Music Week, and New Music West. Spits have released 4 full length LPs, numerous 7 inches on labels like Junk, Estrus, Longshot, and more. Photos from the show at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver BC, Canada on November 20, 2021

Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Arturs Feists. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Areis – Areis

Areis Album Cover Art

Areis – Areis
Wormholedeath
Release Date: 10/09/2021
Running Time: 39:12
Review by Steven Hooke
7/10

The region of Occitania in Southwestern Europe that acts almost as a centre point to the Venn diagram of France, Spain, Monaco, and Italy, drawing in cultures, dialects and history from a multitude of sources. Hailing from today’s geography lesson is Areis, a four-piece from the French Occitanie region who – much like their homeland – pull in inspirations from a variety of styles, creating a mood board of punk, post-hardcore, sludge and black metal.

On this, their debut self-titled album, Areis offer a fluid amalgamation of genres that share a kinship with the likes of Giver, Pariso and Morokh. A duality of low-end grooves and higher-end melodies dominate the album, traversing the realms of blackened hardcore (‘Born Again’, ‘Le Pain Maudit’, ‘Of Gold And Blood’), melodic hardcore (‘Eternal Curse’, ‘The Wanderer’, ‘Recall’) and post-rock (‘Under The Sun’, ‘Vacillate’). The album’s wonderful production job allows both layers to be heard crisply, revealing a strong library of riffs from axemen Paul Gonzalvez and Pablo Malbec, and bringing forth an extraordinary wall of sound on the final third of the release, with a rich, full climax in ‘Recall’ through to ‘Vacillate’.

Another dual-attack on “Areis” is the tandem vocals of Gonzalvez and bassist/vocalist Michaël Jarrié. A similar attack as their instrumentals, the pair trade low growls and a gritty, hardcore bark to add an extra layer of assault to their sound. Both vocal styles share the limelight in fair and naturally-feeling transitions that do not take away from the momentum a song has built, and even add to the energy of a song when layered, creating a vicious gang-vocal-esque effect, heard from the off on opener ‘A Wretched Vow’.

It’s a fair outing for the quartet on their debut. What could’ve been a muddied sound is in fact a new worthwhile entry into the modern hardcore spectrum, with dynamic vocal and tonal pairings, a cracking production job, and a bounty of jaw-clenching riffs. But while there are a lot of interesting ideas and arrangements, it’s hard to think that Areis have lent on this potential creativity enough. Looking at bands such as Respire, Svalbard and Birds in Row – 3 bands who also craft a sound made from hardcore, black metal, and aggression-tinged melodies, albeit in a much different way to Areis – they push the boundaries of their already-very loose parameters, and experiment from the first note to the last. In Areis, the furthest they leave the core sound of the debut is ‘You Are The Best At Your Worst’, which ironically feels like it takes more away from the broader sound, stepping closer to a more straight-forward groove metal sound when there are so many different avenues at their disposal.

The good news from this is the aforementioned bands are all at least two albums in with a plethora of EP’s and comps surrounding them. The fact that Areis can sniff at their heels, and draw comparisons to Giver, et al. paints the Occitans in a strong and hopeful light for the future, and a group to put stock into now.

‘Under The Sun (Official Video)

TRACKLISTING:
01. A Wretched Vow
02. Born Again
03. The Wanderer
04. Of Gold And Blood
05. Eternal Curse
06. You Are The Best At Your Worst
07. Escur
08. Le Pain Maudit
09. Recall
10. Under The Sun
11. Vacillate

LINE-UP:
Paul Gonzalvez – Vocals, Guitars
Michaël Jarrié – Vocals, Bass
Pablo Malbec – Guitar
Antoine Dineur – Drums

LINKS:

Areis Promo Pic

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Steven Hooke and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Capra – In Transmission

In Transmission Album Cover Art

Capra – In Transmission
Blacklight Media Records/Metal Blade Records
Release Date: 23/04/2021
Running Time: 32:27
Review by Steven Hooke
8/10

The mixing pot of punk, hardcore and metal will never not be a good time. The ‘fuck you’ energy, the frenetic pace, the almighty riffs, it is a Holy Trinity in alternative music and should be held aloft with pride, alongside spiky belts, black band t-shirts and dodgy haircuts.

Every now and again though, you find a band that *gets* it, and Louisiana-based troupe Capra really, really gets it.

The now-five-piece (hello Trevor!) came together after a mutual desire between guitarist Tyler Harper and drummer Jeremy Randazzo to bring the excitement and nostalgia of 90’s and early 00’s hardcore to the present day, complete with a modern sheen. After solidifying a line-up that would come to include bassist Ben Paramore and vocalist Crow Lotus, the group eventually set to work on their debut album, “In Transmission”.

The one-word summary for this album would definitely be “aggression”. From the intro track that sounds cut from the main menu of a horror game to the assortment of riffs that possess the frenetic energy of Converge – but also the head-rocking groove of Cancer Bats, and the vitriolic fables spewed forth by Lotus, “In Transmission” often feels like a therapeutic outlet for the band in the face of their battles over the past few years.

A blistering start to the album proper in ‘Hollow Doll’ sees the band tread into Svalbard-esque blackened hardcore territory, before a smooth transition into the album’s lead single, ‘The Locust Preacher’. Possessing a mid-song build akin to ‘Beside the Ones We Love’-era Palm Reader and a litany of riffs seemingly inspired by Every Time I Die, the song is an all-too-real account of depression, and the entrapment one feels inside your own mind and body.

And on that point, this album does not let up lyrically. Primary scribe Crow Lotus puts various subjects on blast, including failing governments, oppression, sexism, and toxic relationships. Cries of “Am I a product of my surroundings, or does the nightmare follow mе?”, “For the weaknesses within yourself, that you don’t have the strength to address” and “They’re not in control of their bodies and somehow that’s my fault” reverberate in the mind each and every time, in a delivery that invokes Ren Aldridge of the Petrol Girls at her most furious, the swagger of ETID’s Keith Buckley, and the ferocity of Gouge Away’s Christina Michelle. In the words of the lady herself, Lotus states “I intend to give a voice to the people who are often overlooked”.

On the musical side of things, the guitar work of Harper cannot go without comment. Once the album kicks in, it rarely relents, maintaining that high-adrenaline attack throughout its near-33 minute runtime, but at no point does it feel like the riffs are running out. “In Transmission2 may stay at that intense level, but it never feels repetitive or running dry on ideas. ‘Red Guillotine’ and ‘Deadbeat Assailant’ in particular, showcase an excellent collection of six-stringed slappers.

Capra joins an ever-increasing army of female representation in punk no longer content with simply sitting on the sidelines or even just being happy to take part, they have become the scene. From pop punk, to crust, to hardcore, to powerviolence, to straight-up punk rock, punk music has a plethora of female-perspective bands brewing in the underground, stretching all the way up to ticket-shifters at festivals. On their first outing as a solid unit, they have opted to go straight for being mad as hell and raising a ruckus on what fires them up the most. The addition of a second guitarist will only add depth to their already vicious sound, and the band are already contemplating their next step to make up for the time stolen from them by COVID. If the pandemic has given them another reason to be angry (which it most certainly would have done), then we are in for a hellacious treat.

‘Medusa’ (Official Video)

TRACKLISTING:
01. [Exordium]
02. Hollow Doll
03. The Locust Preacher
04. Medusa
05. Torture Ship
06. Paper Tongues
07. Mutt
08. Transfiguration
09. Red Guillotine
10. Deadbeat Assailant
11. Samuraiah Carey

LINE-UP:
Crow Lotus – Vocals
Tyler Harper – Guitar
Ben Paramore – Bass
Jeremy Randazzo – Drums

LINKS:

Capra Promo Pic

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Steven Hooke and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

SYD.31 – Machine Ready

Machine Ready Album Cover Art

SYD.31 – Machine Ready
Dys13 Records
Release Date: 02/04/2021
Running Time: 41:15
Review by Beth Jones
9/10

One of my fondest memories, back in the day, was seeing The Prodigy live at The Paleo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland, way back in 1998. I loved their heavy electronic sound, and the way they fused everything with an Industrial Metal edge. Their stage show was out of this world, too. The loss of Keith Flint left a huge hole in the music scene. He, and The Prodigy, were completely unique. I’d never really heard anything like that before, or since. That is until I heard “Machine Ready”, the new album from SYD.31.

This album encapsulates everything I loved about The Prodigy, and more. Pulling from a variety of genres, right from 70’s punk to the techno, garage, and rave scene of the 90’s, it’s a complicated and warped meld of psychotic proportions, but I bloody love it.

Dr Magic, the brains behind SYD.31 sees this as his first ever “truly solo” album, because he’s created the whole thing himself during the isolation of the Covid pandemic. He’s pulled on a variety of influences, recording the bass, guitars and vocals in a definite Punk style (but with influences from the originators of Rock ‘n’ Roll), programming the drums using techniques created by the originators of Hip-Hop, and adding in Techno beats, and the ambience of Dance and Trance. Dr Magic says about the album “If we strip away the guitars and vocals, the album is old school hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass, and Hacienda era dance music.” It absolutely is. This is a guy who really knows his music, and that’s admirable.

His sound is also, in part, inspired by a book he was given at school in Zimbabwe, at the age of 14. “It was a Christian book warning of the demonic dangers of Punk and Shock Metal. Before I got to listen to any of the bands they mentioned, I had to imagine for years what they would sound like – demonic, unstable, sulphurous punk rock.  I never did find any bands that sounded exactly like what I imagined. So I finally went and created that sound myself.”

Thematically, it explores all that is dark. Depression, fear, vulnerability, crisis, demonisation, and the bottomless pit of realisation. The track descriptions we received to go along with the album are something I’ve found fascinating to read. There are so many thought processes, observations, and memories going on, but I can hear, and visualise them all. This really is art as much as it is music, and I could see it being the soundtrack to an installation exhibition. In fact, I would actually pay good money to see that. It would be one hell of an immersive experience.

So, what does it sound like? Well, each track is different, but the masterfully handled elements of the various genres run through them all. The best I can do is this: It’s angry Keith Flint, shouting at people at an illegal rave, while in the next room The Misfits, Prince, and Chuck Berry, are rocking out together drunk, and breaking stuff, and you’re standing in the doorway between both rooms hearing it all, on a comedown from a bad trip.

There are all sorts of other elements though. Funk bass in ‘Collapsing A New Star’, tribal drums at the beginning of ‘Demon Night’, and a smattering of Death vocals further on in that track, to name but a few. There’s even a classical twist to the ambience that opens, ‘Imitating Art’. There’s so much to explore. If you want to genre it, I suppose Industrial Techno Punk Metal would sort of cover it, but I wouldn’t bother pigeonholing it to be honest. It’s art. It’s rather damn good. And I can’t stop listening to it.

‘Machine Ready’ (Official Video)

TRACKLISTING:
01. Intro (A Night Visitor)
02. Broken Blank
03. It Came To This
04. Imminent Failure
05. As They Let You Down
06. Collapsing New Stars
07. Demon Nigh
08. Imitating Art
09. Disassemble Me
10. Machine Ready
11. We Turned the Lights Out
12. Outro (A Visitor Departs)

LINE-UP:
Dr Magic – All Music and Madness

Chris Oscillate – Mixing and Mastering, Additional Synth on ‘Imminent Failure’, Additional 808 and all additional percussion arrangement

LINKS:

SYD.31 - Dr Magic - Photo by Will Shields
Photo by Will Shields

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Interview with Red Terror UK

Red Terror UK Logo

Interview with Red Terror UK
By Sheri Bicheno

Hi All! Sheri here. I’m back with another interview and this one is with Brighton/London based Punk band Red Terror UK!

Red Terror were formed in 2017 and as they put it, make noise about the UK government! Their self-titled EP, released in 2018, has helped them play live in some of the UK’s favourite Southern underground venues such as The Tavern, The Hope and Ruin, The Prince Albert, Bar 42 Worthing, The Pipeline, The Green Door Store and many more.

Read on to see what shenanigans they create, the concept behind their message in the EP and to never take things from strange men in large overcoats…

Sheri: So, we know Red Terror was unleashed in 2017! As with a lot of punk agendas, you have political confrontation in your music. Give our readers an insight into your background and how was Red Terror conceived?

Siri: Ahh hahaha it was initially conceived out of me, Joey and someone else wanting to have a bit of fun but it sorta just stopped. Then it came to a Uni assessment in the second year I think, and we needed to make a band as part of the assessment, so we just turned around and were like “you wanna give it another go?”. Then ended up getting J (Jed) into the band, who is not here right now haha – and then one thing led to another and we ended up with this somehow.

Ashwin: So, I filled in for a few shows and then it got into being like “look, just drum for us, already” haha which is fine!

*Jed enters the chat*

Jed: Sup?

Ashwin: J – can you give us a bit of backstory into Red Terror?

Siri: Sorry, can I just hold up a second – we’ve finally managed to get all four of us in the same place at the same time hahaha.

Jed: Absolutely beautiful haha. From what I gather, Joey, Siri and Connor who is our previous drummer, used to put on gigs and go on and play ‘Endless Nameless’ (Nirvana song) and I went to this gig in Worthing that Joey was playing and they were like “do you wanna join the band?” and I was like “Ok, I’ll give it a go”.

Joey: We made you sign a contract.

Jed: Did we actually have a contract?

Joey: Yeah, we made you sign a contract, so you are legally bound to be in Red Terror for the next 97 years hahaha.

Jed: Hahaha. Oh shit. I remember that night we went to rehearse over the bridge and we were just noisy bastards. Until eventually, it was like, about 6 months later, we started tightening up and we actually played a gig. Then after that it was basically every other week, right we’re playing this, we’re playing that and chaos and pints ensued…

Sheri: Where are you all based? Are you all in Brighton?

Joey: We were. I mean, the majority of us moved away from for one reason or another and we sort of just meet in London when we can. It’s kinda the middle for everyone.

Ashwin: Our most recordings are back in Brighton but the last few months we’ve been either in Earlsfield or East Croydon where we go up and do practises now. There was a time where we were all based in the same City and it was a lot easier haha.

Siri: Back in the day!

Ashwin: Siri is the only one who’s managed to keep their lifestyle in Brighton which is fair play because I couldn’t do that forever hahaha.

Sheri: As mentioned, your music is politically charged, for all the reasons the UK needs to hear! Give our readers your own thoughts into the message you’re putting out there?

Joey: So, I mean, I think a lot of it comes from me personally, I was at College kinda around the time when the Tory coalition with the Liberal Democrats started. I remember me and someone else at College were completely ripping into one of the College Tutors as she was Tory…and I think it comes from that frustration of no matter what anyone seems to do, we’re just stuck with the Tories through an indefinite amount of time. I think we know how to channel that through music and it turns out that a lot of people seem to agree with that. A lot of bands have a similar method. It becomes a place where people can vent their frustrations and we’re almost like…through us doing that, we’re giving others a platform to voice those opinions, I guess.

Siri: I’d say also that we come from varying different backgrounds and ways that the UK government and political spectrum has impacted us in different ways, like we all come from different backgrounds. I mean obviously being individuals of colour, so there’s multiple different reasons for our views about the government and about how it’s impacted us and such. Having that broad sort of spectrum, it helps us in our music to appeal and apply it to the rest of the UK and the rest of the world because it’s a reflection on not just us but everyone at the moment.

Joey: We have a lot of hate mail as well from right wingers for like…we haven’t even done anything for ages…we have the occasional inbox or like comment on our posts that try to “Cancel us” I guess… what was that one from that guy the other day?

Siri: That was madness. What was he on about?

Jed: He was clearly in the middle of having some kind of normal one haha. Just wanting to express that hahaha.

Sheri: So, these are the motives behind creating what Red Terror are essentially about. It’s like putting personal things into music.

Jed: Oh, spite! A lot of acts, compared to them, I think we are a lot more violent in terms of performance. Because, as Siri has got on his Bass headstock, “You gotta mind out for the flying bass” because he’s just throwing it everywhere! I mean, how many people have you actually maimed?

Siri: Hahaha. I’ve not actually maimed anyone! I nearly killed Joey…

Joey: Things can happen where we include Hannah, the ceiling at the Tavern in Exeter, me, J…

Siri: The bass itself.

Joey: Who was the person you smashed in the face? Who got like a massive lump? I think it was Meg…or was that from the ceiling?

Jed: Oh no that was the bar at The Tavern, I think.

Siri: That wasn’t me, that was the metal bit in front of the stage that fell down so that was not me hahaha. There was this metal bar in front of the stage and they were just rocking it back and forward until they just ripped it out of its socket. It just collapsed on top of Meg and everyone else.

Sheri: Death to everyone!

Joey: Almost simulating a revolution…

Jed: I think a lot of post punk bands are missing that kind of level of stupid edgy spite that the original run of punks kind of had before they all turned Tories haha. The aim is to keep it in the left camp.

Ashwin: I think what’s different about being in this band compared to other stuff I’ve been involved with, is that it’s guaranteed to be fun and have this unbridled chaos that ensues and it seems to feed off quite well no matter who we’re playing with. I think there’s a level of accessibility with the left-wing messages in there but it’s not to a point of being like “haha Orange Man bad.” “Haha, Tories bad.” Especially since recently, there’s stuff we’ve sung about that we’ve drawn more from personal experience as opposed to just being like “Uh, government bad.” or that we are Communist punk rock – it’s expanded a bit more since then which is really nice and it’s just a good outlet to have that more politically driven side of things rather than being someone who talks the talk on their social media but doesn’t actually do anything actively.

Sheri: Let’s talk about your releases – you released EP Red Terror in 2018 – Apart from your iconic 44 second ‘Jeremy Corbyn Ate My Homework’, my favourite track is ‘Parasite’, which focuses on the Theresa May governance. Take us through the back roads of the lyrical meaning to this EP.

Siri: I forgot the lyrics. Hahaha. Joey just makes the lyrics up on the spot haha.

Joey: It was around the time that Windrush and a lot of racist attacks were empowered by Brexit. Their society is about refugees basically and people sort of attacking them and newspapers demonizing people for leaving more poorer countries. I mean, ‘Whitehawk’ is just a silly and fun song basically about… just don’t be a c*nt and don’t hate other people for no reason. ‘Pop Music’ was the first song we ever wrote, actually. That was kind of when me, Siri and Connor used to practise, we used to cover some Greenday songs. Haha.

Siri: And Feeder wasn’t it?

Joey: Yeah, haha I think that’s where the influence for that came from and it almost turned into a piss take out of itself. Obviously, we wrote the song and I was like “How do we make this more cheesy?” So, I added a key change to the last chorus.

Ashwin: That one’s my favourite to play live because I always like adding the tempo to ridiculous speeds to the point where it’s three times as fast as it’s meant to be but during the recording, I’m like “but it needs to be faster, I’m going to make this faster because I started this god damn tempo off and I want some control in this part.” haha.

I think that’s the only one that has a relationship theme, the rest of them are very blatant with the theme!

Joey: Yeah, we have our obligatory pop-punk break up song for certain.

Sheri: When coming together to write Red Terror, in terms of songwriting, how did you find fitting the rawness and energy to amalgamate your message and your music?

Siri: I would say in terms of the music, it was never really like we got into the studio and there were plans to be a punk band. It just sort of a case of we got in there and was like “let’s just play something” and it ended up as Red Terror. All of us come from fairly different musical backgrounds. Like. Shwin, you’re more sort of noisy and shit. J, from my understanding you’re more sort of old wave, Talking Heads and stuff like that. The weird shit.

Jed: Power pop and stuff like that. I’ve been part of the writing process, I just thought I enjoy that a part of the energy in a song can be the chords and they can go to stupid places. Siri came up the riff for ‘Why Should I?’ Which is our next single. I came up with the chorus, so I just slapped some chords together – it sounds a little bit weird.

Siri: Hahaha. That’s the Red Terror style – just “slap some stuff together”.

Sheri: Just get stuck in haha.

Joey: Some of the earliest recordings, I have them, it sounds almost kinda like a lost Nirvana session where we’re just dicking around and that’s sorta how it started and it became more and more refined because we took bits out of it and kept those bits and sort of got rid of the bits where I was screaming into the microphone and where J was scratching at the guitar against the amp and stuff like that. We still kept some of those bits in, but they have their place now instead of being spontaneous.

Sheri: That’s part of the personality of it. If Red Terror were a drink, what would you be and why? Give our readers a comparison taste…

Jed: DON’T SAY BUCKFAST!

Hahahaha. I’m gonna say Buckfast! Absolute unadulterated fucking chaos and you never know what’s gonna happen with it hahaha. Sometimes chaos and sometimes WTF is happening haha.

Ashwin: I’m gonna go with Black Sambuca – Siri can explain this story as it’s very relevant to when headlined our last gig. Hahaha.

Joey: Wasn’t that Buckfast as well?

Jed: But would that mean that we are about to admit that we committed a crime? Hahaha. We don’t need to include that part hahaha.

Ashwin: So basically, we partied in this playground and there was a man who offered us Black Sambuca and £10 crack from his very large overcoats – think that is one of the weirdest experiences, we haven’t had anything as surreal as that. We didn’t drink it obviously but… hahaha.

Siri: That could be something to do with the next song haha.

Sheri: Try anything once I guess haha. There’s a picture that’s one of my favourites and it’s featuring Siri in a chair and a pile of chunder…So whatever drink has that effect, I agree hahaha.

*everyone bursts into laughter*

Siri: I think that was a dodgy burger!

Joey: Siri’s dad bought us all burgers from Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Siri ungratefully decided to throw it up. Hahaha.

*all laugh*.

Siri: I think I’d only had like two drinks and then when we played, I went absolutely H.A.M when we played and my body was just like “no, you have done too much”.

Joey: Were you screaming “I hate Gourmet Burger Kitchen” before you threw up, or did I make that up?

Siri: No hahaha.

Joey: How do I remember it? Hahaha.

Jed: After that gig we all had to go straight back home because we had to go to work the next day. I had to be in by 10am and I think I was still drunk.

Siri: And I was quite drunk, sitting in my dad’s car for about 2 hours all the way from Exeter. Clearly my Dad was just there like “WTF has my son become?” hahaha.

Sheri: As the live music scene has been majorly trampled on over the last year, I can imagine it’s been a pain to be as productive as you’d like. Have you been making any plans for when live gigs return to some normality?

Joey: It’s been discussed. We’ve a few ideas.

Siri: I think we’ve bounced around a couple of ideas but for the most part it’s been more that we don’t know when this is gonna end. Also, we would rather not be in a situation where we book something and then BANG, you’re in another lockdown.

Ashwin: I think the most frustrating thing last year was that it was very obvious gigs were getting rescheduled for September that it just wasn’t happening…and promoters were being really optimistic about that and it was pissing me off because there was no vaccine in sight, there’s no funding for these venues, most of these venues are having to do crowd funders to keep afloat and there was just no normality. I find that its weirder when we did practise and record stuff, as soon as lockdown was lifted the first time, people were going fresh into the practise phases and it kinda seems pointless because it’s like… the live shows that you want in that capacity are just not possible and if you are going to, you’re gonna have these shit sit down equivalents, which I get why people are doing, but for punk bands it’s just not the same.

If you’re an indie band or a solo Artist, I mean I don’t want to shit on people who are doing these socially distance gigs, I just feel like it’s better to wait until everything settles and you don’t feel guilty for playing these things because you’re not putting people at risk. Above all, if there’s something that’s gone away rather than “well, we can squeeze this in before another lockdown” I just don’t think that’s great.

Siri: What if we played gigs in Hazmat suits?

Sheri: Are you working on any new material that you can tell us about?

All: Yes!

Joey: Yeah, we’ve got a couple of songs and I’ve got a few ideas that we first started writing since the last full lockdown. Song called ‘Tram Man’. Which, is once again about a bad experience that Siri had…

Sheri: Why is it always you? Hahaha.

Siri: It was traumatising hahaha.

Ashwin: ‘Tram Man’ was made because of a practise that we had in East Croydon, where we got on the tram to get to the practise room and because in London, they don’t accept cash on public transport, Siri couldn’t just buy a ticket on the tram, so he got slapped with a £100 fine or something ridiculous like that and we just decided to write a song about it.

Jed: I’ve started writing lyrics in a way. The way it kinda turned out is just kinda like more anxiety about where technology is actually going and that it might actually leave us all behind. If you’re homeless and you wanna get about, what do you do? If you don’t have a credit card and where banks are going cashless, you’re kind of fucked.

Ashwin: Exactly…and that’s definitely increased over COVID and fuck knows what it will be like after this period where people are afraid – and I understand why because it’s handing things over. But also, I feel like it’s already hard enough for people in marginalised positions to you know, even have a fixed address for a bank account or even access to medication and so the idea, I guess in a larger way, is ‘The Tram Man’ is this unbeatable figure of aggression, essentially. Hahaha. No one really likes going on a train and figuring out that you don’t have the right ticket and then being charged extra for that so…it’s like an extended metaphor of that…

Sheri: Tell our readers how we can support you at the moment.

Joey: Ah, listening to us on Spotify and YouTube and sharing our stuff around. We haven’t really got any monetized revenue, really. I mean we’re a punk band so we’re not really doing this for money.

Ashwin: Even if we did anyway there’s no money to be had because that’s what life is like hahaha.

Joey: We’ve got merch; CD’s, T-shirts and stuff. So, if anyone wants to send us a message with their address, they can always buy a T-Shirt…or buy me a beer.

Siri: If you really wanna help us out, you can leave food out for the Racoons that make up the 4 people sat before you haha.

*all laugh*

Sheri: Send out food and beer hahaha. Do you have any other platforms apart from Facebook?

Jed: We’re on Spotify and Bandcamp.

Joey: And Instagram, Apple Music, Twitter page…

Jed: What we would like to encourage people to do is make a playlist and put it on loop and basically take as much money from Daniel Ek as possible…because he’s being a bastard hahaha.

Ashwin: To be honest, playlists are the best way of supporting people because not only are you helping your mates but you’re expanding music that people might not be familiar with. The thing with Spotify is that most of the similar sounding things are not to do with the sound itself, it’s to do with the sort of people that listen to your music. So, in my other bands, there’s loads of unrelated Artists that will come up as suggestions, but they happen to be what people are listening to at the time, so if you have a playlist of similar sounding things or different bands that have the same members as each other or something, that’s usually the best way of supporting. It also means that you don’t have to slog through you know, loads of other stuff if you just want to listen to one track etc. I think it’s really easy to be really cynical about Spotify and there’s this evil overlord’s thing…but I guess that platform is there, it’s convenient, it’s not going away so you might as well make good use of it.

Siri: The only reason your playlist is set up like that is because we all know that “Shoegaze” isn’t a real genre. Hahaha.

Jed: Playlist culture now is just a bit of bollocks…

Ashwin: Prove it. It increases your overall streams and I think there’s a way of doing it where it isn’t this contrived thing and I think that also having collaborative playlists where people can add their own – as long as it’s within reason and people aren’t silly with it and add like, I dunno, Gary Glitter or something stupid like that. Then you can make it a fun, collaborative thing to have so…

Siri: Now who’s talking about problematic Artists haha.

Jed: I’ve been working on my other project as well and part of that is that I’ve been doing a lot of the promotion for it, for the first time and I’ve been watching those little music videos about how you increase your reach; you go onto to submit your email to blogs, you do all this and that. I got added to one playlist out of all that and it’s got like 500 songs on it. So, I think it gets to the point sometimes where you just, a lot of the time, the desperation to be added to it gets to you. But I don’t see a better way of doing it.

Sheri: Not until some things get back to normality and you can physically promote yourselves. Finally, give some advice!

Ashwin: It’s about getting the balance right, don’t be afraid to self-promote because at the end of the day, unless you have all of these connections that you know, no one is gonna do it but yourself…on the other hand, I really object to people who add you on Facebook and then immediately be like “Hey, man. Come like my metal core band or…add you to an Instagram group with all of their friends that you’ve never met before and they’re like “Come watch our new music video!” So those things, bad. Sponsors, links or whatever – they might be a bit annoying, but they do work. Thing is getting over that anxiety of like “I’m in a band and I’m doing that.” or whatever and your friends might find it a bit annoying but…who fucking cares? They might be quite pleasantly surprised by it but just…self-promote but just be smart about it.

Joey: Yeah, dont; force your music upon people because they’re probably more likely to reject it straight away – even if you think it’s great, people don’t like adverts, generally. And I guess people don’t like being told what to do so any information out there for your music. I’m not even on Facebook anymore because I think it’s a load of shit but like…I share stuff to Instagram stories and stuff because people respond to it like “oh sick!”

Ashwin: Yeah, it’s more organic than just bombarding people with a load of shit. There’s a lot of stereotypes around DIY musicians where it’s easy to take the piss out of them because it is pretty cringe, but it is also the only way to promote…so…if all 4 of you are promoting at the same time, you share the embarrassment but if you’re doing it on your own, you’re sorta fucked hahaha.

Siri: It’s difficult when, if you do make a post and it will get lost in the sea of other posts going around from different bands or memes or whatever, it’s so easy for your stuff to get lost in that. So, it is really difficult unless you’re willing to fork out money to pay Zuckerberg to give you more reach.

Jed: I got banned from Facebook Ad’s recently. I don’t know how – I think what happened was that it came up with PayPal for two different things and I wasn’t getting an invoice for some of it, so I ended up blocking it and then I got banned from it cuz it’s just fucked how they operate it. I guess my advice is exist out of spite! If no one is listening, keep making it and you know, pay to like one person in a tiny basement with your trousers off cuz one day…

Ashwin: Hahaha. Why do they have to have their trousers off!?!

Jed: Cuz I mean, we’re not big. But there are still people who will come out to see us and I still get messages from people who are like “I recognise you through this thing” or Facebook groups and things like that. It’s a small world.

Joey: Yeah, me and Siri got recognised by someone and neither of us had any idea who they were.

Siri: I think that was after our first gig, we walked into an offie’ and some guy was like “You’re the guys from Red Terror!” and we were like YAAAAA!

Joey: Yeah? What’s it to ya haha!

Ashwin: And it wasn’t a threat, it was like OH MY GOD someone recognises us hahaha. WHY DO YOU KNOW US? Hahaha.

Joey: As long as you’re not a cop haha.

Ashwin: Yeah “You’re from Red Terror, you’re the ones that broke the mirrors last night.” hahaha. I just did that in a West Country accent and I have no idea why.

Sheri: Why not hahaha. Thanks so much guys, it’s been brilliant!

Red Terror: Thank you so much!

Red Terror are:
Siri Crawford – Bass
Joey Reeves – Vocals
Ashwin Bhandari – Drums
Jed – Guitar

LINKS:

Red Terror UK Promo Pic

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Sheri Bicheno and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities